Rotary engine



N0. 625,328. Patented May 23, |899. C. T. FUNDA.

led June 2S, 1897) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES T. FONDA, OF WI-IEATLAND, MISSOURI.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.. 625,328, dated May 23, 1899.

Application filed June Z3, 1897.

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that l, CHARLES T. FoNDA, residing at Vheatland, in the county of Hickory and State of Missou ri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rotary Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is in the nature of a rotary engine which may be direct-acting or reverse, as desired, but slight change iu the construction being needed.

The object of myinvention is to produce a rotary engine which shall be simple, cheap, durable, and effective and which while very easy to manage and not at all liable to get out of repair will give a much larger percentage of power for the amount of steam consumed than any engine now in existence of which I have any knowledge.

My invention consists in the improved construction, arrangement, and combination of parts hereinafter fully described and afterward specifically pointed out in the claim.

In order to enable persons skilled in the art to which my invention most nearly appertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation in connection with the accompanying drawings, forminga part of this specificatiomin which- Figure l is a sectional view of my invention on the line l 1 of Fig. 4:, showing the engine with the cylinder-head removed. Fig. v2 is a sectional View on the line 2 2 of Fig. 4, showing the piston-head in elevation. Fig. 3 is a central sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a sectional view at right angles to that of Figs. l, 2, and 3 on the line 440i? Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a view in elevation of the pistonhead removed from the engine. Fig. 6 is an inverted plan view of the slide-valve.

Like letters of reference indicate thesame parts wherever they occur in the different views of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings by letters, A isa cylinder which may be cast in one part with the base A. This cylinder is provided with a steam-chest B at the top, into which the steam-pipe enters at B. Leading from the steam-chest are two steam-passages O and C', and mounted in the bottom of the steam-chest is a slide-valve D, whose operating-rod D is connected to a pivoted hand-lever E, having a spring-pawl E to engage with a toothed seg- Serial No. 641,892. (No model.)

ment F. Two grooves G and G', cut in the inner periphery of the cylinder, extend a sufficient distance around the cylinder to permit the steam let into said grooves to impinge upon three of the pistons H and enter three of the steam-pockets I. These pistons and steam-pockets are part of the skeleton pistonhead or wheel, which is rigidly secured on a shaft J, extending entirely through the engine, whereby it may be provided at one or both ends with pulleys upon which to run belts for the purpose of transmitting power to the engine. This skeleton head consists of a hub K and spokes K', said spokes extending longitudinally the Whole length of the cylinder and radially a suicient distance to slide on the inner periphery thereof. piston-heads H are located at the ends of the spokes and are connected and braced by curved bars L. Projecting laterally from each piston-head H is a lug M, --Which forms the seat of screws M for securing followerplates N on the sides of the spokes of the piston-head. In the angles formed between the outer sides of the pistons H and the lugs M, as at O in Fig. 5, is seated a ring P, which runs in Contact with the inner periphery of the cylinder and is kept in bearing therewith by The means of springs Q, seated in the space-justinside of these lugs and kept extended upwardly by means of set-screws R. An exhaust-port S is provided at the bottom of the pistonsvhieh will also serve as a drip for the cylinder.

A2 are the cylinder-heads, secured to the cylinder by bolts A3, the joints being made steam-tight by any suitable packing.

The operation of my invention may be described as follows: The sliding valve being in the position as shown in Fig. 3, steam is admitted into the steam-chest and from the steam-chest passes through the passage C and IOO of the engine to receive the steam against it and into the pocket following it, so that a continuous motion in that direction will be kept up as long as the steam is admitted. The shaft will be turned with great power owing Vto the fact that the steam has a bearing at all times against at least three of the pistons, always exerting its power in at least three of the steam-pockets when the piston-head, as in this instance, is provided with eight piston-heads and eight steam-pockets. It will be understood, of course, that the number ofsteam-pockets and the consequent number of piston-heads may be varied to suit the kind of work to be performed and the style of engine; but in every instance the steam will be admitted to nearly one-half of the total number of pockets and against the same number of piston-heads. In order to stop the engine,

the engineer will grasp the hand-lever E and,

withdrawing the pawl E'from the outer notch of the toothed crank, will push the lever in one notch and again engage the pawl, this time in the middle notch.Y This will cause the slidevalve D to rest partially over each of the passages C and C', which will let steam in onboth sides of the piston-heads at once, this quickly stopping the engine.

in the reverse direction as it moved in the for-I ward direction, as hereinbefore described.

The. foregoing description was that of an engine constructed in accordance with my invention intended to be used as a reversible rotary engine, and while by means of my in` Vention a rot-ary engine of greatly-increased power and speed is produced a still more powerful direct-acting rotary engine in which the engine can work but in one direction will be the result 0f carrying out my ideas. In

order to construct such an engine for running in one direction only, there need be but one steam-passage. The steam-chamber may be dispensed with and the steam admitted directly from the steam-pipe from the boiler.

In order to rej versc the engine, the engineer will again grasp There will be but one groove, such as G or G', in the inner periphery of the cylinder; but this groove will extend around almost the entire circumference, leaving only suihcient space to include slightly more than one complete steam-pocket- In this instance the exhaust S at the bottom will be dispensed with and an exhaust provided at the top. With such a construction the steam may be admitted simultaneously to all but one of the steam-pockets and exert its force at the same time upon all but one of the pistons, this obviously more than doubling the power of the engine with an expenditure of but very little, if any, more steam than in the construction illustrated.

As before stated, my engine is applicable to all kinds of work for which an engine can l kslight changes or variations as would suggest themselves to the ordinary mechanic will` clearly fall within the limit and scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure ,by Letters Patent of the United States,l is

The combination with the cylinder and the hub with its spokes, of the piston-heads'on the outer ends of the spokes, lugs projecting laterally from the said heads, follower-plates on the sides of the said spokes, meansengaging the said lugs for securing said plates, a ring upon one side of said lugs and bearing against the inner periphery of the cylinder, and springs in the spaces formed between the inner sides of the piston-heads and the said lugs and bearing against said ring, and means as set-screws bearing on the springs to keep the same extended outward, substantially as shown and described.

CHARLES T. FONDA.

lVitnesses:

JOHN W. ROBERTSON, CHARLES M. BENTLEY. 

